She Walks In Starlight
by melissasands
Summary: A young dwarf and elf struggle to understand their feelings, while everything they know collapses around them.
1. Chapter 1

In his dreams the stars danced, and she moved gracefully among them. She turned towards him, piercing his heart with her gaze. She looked at him with the same intensity of the burning lights surrounding them. She drifted towards him, softly singing words in a language he couldn't comprehend, but could feel the good intent they bore to him. The melody filled his ears, and he strained to hear the jarring drumbeats that played in the distance. Her gaze softened as she came closer, and lifted a pale hand to touch his face. He stared back at her with laughter in his gentle eyes, and leaned into her touch, revelling in the brightness of her presence. He moved his gaze to the stars, watching as they drifted down towards him, lighting his surroundings with a heavenly fire. He looked at the otherworldly elven creature in front of him and, as she smiled down at him, her entire body began to glow. The star fire rained down on him, and as he gloried in its beauty, everything began to burn. Her eyes sharpened, and her mouth slowly opened in a shout that sounded much too far off. He heard her say his name, and she seemed frantic. She was telling him to run, but why would he run? He wanted to stay right here with her, forever. Away from the people who would tell them that they would never be together. Yet her voice grew louder and harsher, and the drumbeats pounded against his ears. His eyes flew open, and everything was on fire.

**ooooo**

"By Durin's beard, Kili! Wake up!" Kili opened his eyes to see his elder brother's face close to his, staring frantically at him for signs of consciousness. He sat up quickly, groaning as his head pounded. He could still hear those curious drumbeats, which reminded him.

"Tauriel! Where is she?" Kili quickly looked around, trying to find her. As he looked, he noticed that he was no longer sitting in Bard's kitchen, but was quite some distance away from Laketown, laying near the shore of Long Lake. He could feel heat against his back, and when he stretched to look behind him for signs of the she-elf, he let out a horrified gasp at the sight of fire and fleeing humans. He looked back at his brother, his face void of its usual cheer and humour, but instead filled with desperation and fear. Before he could ask what had happened, he heard a terrific roar come from the sky above. He stood up, ignoring the pain in his head, and his hand moved to grab his sword before he remembered that they had been left in the hands of the elven king. His eyes raked across the sky, searching for what could only be the dragon, Smaug.

"How long?" he questioned his brother, still searching the sky.

"Since what?" Fili replied.

"Since he woke."

"He emerged from the mountain only an a few dozen minutes before now. Tauriel and I dragged you out of Laketown as swiftly as we could, but she returned to the town as soon as we got here."

"How long ago did she leave? I could've sworn I heard her."

"Only a few minutes before you woke."

"And what has happened to our company? What of Thorin? Smaug's emergence does not bode well for them."

"They left on the morning of Durin's day, and have not returned since, and nor have we heard news of them. We can only hope for the best at this point."

"Well, we must go fight!" Kili proclaimed, as he began to walk unsteadily towards Laketown, only to collapse on his injured leg.

"Kili, you have just been poisoned, and you barely survived. It is thanks to Tauriel that you live, and I do not believe she would take it too kindly if you died in that burning town."

"But what of the villagers? Are we to just leave them to die?" Kili's words were punctured by the deafening roar of Smaug. Kili looked up, to finally see the dragon emerging from the other side of Laketown, burning everything in his sight. He was truly a magnificent creature, with crimson scales shimmering in the light of the fire like drops of blood. His wings pounded the air in time with what he had previously thought had been the beating of drums. He had to fight with all of his will not to take off at a run towards Laketown, for he had never been as worried for the safety of an elf as he was now. I_It's just because she saved your life_,/Ihe assured himself, I_and you just need to repay her for her kindness._/I

"No, that is why Tauriel left us with her horse. We are to ride to the closest sentries posted in Mirkwood, to request aid from Thranduil." Kili tore his gaze away from Laketown and looked back at his brother.

"Well why did you not say earlier? Let us go!"

**ooooo**


	2. Chapter 2

Running swiftly down the paths of Laketown, Tauriel helped a townsman and his children to escape from their burning homes. She kept a close eye on the clouds, waiting for the dragon to re-emerge. _I put too much faith into the hands of the kin of a king driven mad by greed,_ she chastised herself, _how are we to be expected to kill this beast?_ She looked around for Legolas, and spotted him running just ahead of her. She called out his name, and as he turned she saw that his eyes were filled with a hard determination. But behind that determination she could see panic and fear, and it dawned on her how terrifying this must be for the elven prince. After all, he nearly lost his father to the flames of a great dragon of the North.

"Legolas, we cannot defeat this dragon on our own. We do not even have any sort of arrow that could pierce his hide."

"Tauriel, did your affection for that unsightly dwarf blind you?" he spat bitterly, and she started, offended at the tone of his accusation, "Oh do not think I cannot see how you stare at him. I've known you since we were infants, and you must stop this unnatural longing."

"You talk about my blindness, but you are the one who is letting your emotions blind you. Do not think for a second that anything I feel for the dwarf is anything but that of friendship. Do not let your father's distaste for his race colour your opinions, you know as well as I that we are not superior."

"Ha! You forget that they are the ones that brought this desolation upon us! Your _friendship_ would be our undoing."

"I am the captain of the guard, and you would do well to remember it before you speak to me that way. You may be a prince, Legolas, but you are not a child to be coddled any longer. Rid yourself of those poisonous thoughts, they will bring nothing but peril to us all."

He remained quiet after this, and she settled for giving him her dirtiest look for the offence he had given her, but remained quiet as well, hoping to avoid an argument. Or maybe hoping to quell the panic that had bubbled in her stomach at the mention of Kili. _I should not have left him alone with Fili. He is still too weak to defend himself._ "But what do you mean, that I am blind?"

"Bard's house! You were too busy caring for the dwarf to notice that he had a black arrow hidden from us," he pronounced, pointing above them towards the doorway of the home of the bargeman, "we simply need to get it." She pointedly decided to ignore the slight against her, in hopes that he would act more maturely if she did.

"Well why did you not say so sooner?" She called behind her, as she sprinted past him and up the stairs. She burst through the doorway, swiftly pushing away fresh memories of panicked spell casting and soft words, and began frantically searching through the kitchen. "Legolas, what if we miss?"

"We are elves, Tauriel. We do not miss." They exchanged a quiet look loaded with resolve and fear. She watched as he glanced around the kitchen, his expression becoming infuriated. "Where is the arrow? Where did he take it?" he hissed in frustration, grasping among the nets on the roof. Tauriel searched the room, and spotted movement outside the window. She hurried across the room, and as soon as she spotted Bard on the rooftops by the dwarven crossbow, she heard a thunderous roar.

"Legolas!" she screamed, pointing out the window. The dragon descended rapidly towards Bard, and before either of them could move, they watched as Smaug bellowed out a great breath of fire. Their vision was obscured by the flames surrounding the tower, and they heard a man's shout and an otherworldly scream, followed by a terrific splash and thud.

**ooooo**

"What was that?" Fili looked around for the source of the distant crash. He looked down at his younger brother, and as he noticed that Kili was unconscious, he began to shake him. "Kili? Kili! You aren't supposed to sleep!" The young dwarf remained limp. "Kili! Tauriel said–"  
"What?" KIli jerked at the name of the elf. "Where is – oh god that hurts." He held his head as he struggled to sit up.

"Careful, Tauriel said you might have a concussion. You hit your head pretty hard when you insisted that you help her defend Laketown, and then immediately passed out and fell down a flight of stairs." Fili laughed, "She's back in Laketown, remember? We're to alert the elven king that Smaug left the mountain – if he doesn't already know. We're nearly at the edge of Mirkwood, Tauriel said there would be guards posted."

"By Durin's beard, you let her stay in Laketown?! She's just a lass, we have to go back now!" Apparently he did not remember their previous conversation. _He must've hit his head pretty hard,_ Fili thought, shaking his head.

"Just a lass? She's the captain of the guard and she killed dozens of orcs just to get at you to save your damned life, Kili. She's not just some lass. Besides, she told me that under no circumstances were we to return unless it was with a company of elves."

"But–"

"No, Kili! I know you're worried about her, but I will not risk your life nor the hundreds of humans we could save from Smaug with the help of the elves."

"But what if–"

"She'll be _fine_, Kili. She can hold her own, and she's too smart to let a great serpent get her. Now if you'll shut up, we need to keep an eye out for the guards posted."

"She saved my life didn't she? With some kings foil . . . you were there, and so were Bofur and Oin. Wait! Where are Bofur and Oin?"

"It took you that long to notice, eh? As soon as the heard the dragon, they took off for the mountain. Let's just hope that more than just the two of them return." Kili hung his head, ashamed that he hadn't been as concerned for his kin and friends as his brother obviously was.  
"Brighten up, there. They're probably fine. Knowing Bilbo, he snuck them out before the dragon could do any real harm to 'em."

Before Kili could say anything in response, a shout came from the woods. "Halt! Name yourselves, dwarves."

"It is Fili, and Kili, of the line of Durin. We have come on behalf of Tauriel to request your aid!" Fili called back towards the dark forest. As they stared, two elven guards stepped out into the light of the moon.

"And what makes you think we would help you? We should be imprisoning you!"

"Smaug. He has come. If you don't help us now, all of Laketown and its people will burn." The elves stared at him, horror breaking through their usual mask of indifference. The guards exchanged a look, and one of them rapidly turned around and ran into the forest.

"I am Lethuin. Feren has gone back to Thranduil to request aid. Where are the elves that followed you to Laketown? Where are Thranduil and Legolas?" Fili and Kili exchanged a dark look.

"They remained in Laketown, sir. They were determined to protect the people at any costs."

"Then that is where we shall go. We will assist them on their mission." Kili let out a sigh of relief, wincing as his head throbbed. His entire body felt like it had been beaten by an orc for several hours. Lethuin let out a short whistle, and gracefully swung onto the running horse that emerged from the forest behind them.

"Let's go save your girlfriend." Fili laughed and winked as Kili blushed furiously.

**ooooo**

"Pa! Pa!" Tauriel practically tumbled out the door in her rush to get to the crying child. "Pa! Somebody help me!" Leaping off the balcony and jumping over canals, they ran towards the flames. As Tauriel dodged a falling piece of roof, she spotted a boy kneeling beside a dark figure.

"Legolas! It's Bard! We have to get him out of here!" He ran ahead of her, swiftly picking up the child and running towards to lake, and away from the spreading fire. As she knelt down to pick up the man, a falling piece of timber struck her right shoulder, and she cried out in pain. She felt her arm go limp, and instead threw the man over her left shoulder to carry him. She sprinted out of the flames, and set the man down by the lake, gasping as she saw the monstrous corpse resting in the lake. "He did it, Legolas. He shot Smaug." Legolas gave her a brisk nod, and turned towards the boy.

"Boy! What's your name?"

"Bain, son of Bard! Please save him!" Tauriel looked down at the man she had pulled out of the burning town, and put her hands on his heart. His heartbeat was strong, and his breathing was fine.  
"Bain, your father will be okay. He's just unconscious at the moment. It looks as if he'll have a few broken bones, but it is nothing that we cannot mend." She smiled down at the boy, and he looked immensely relieved. She looked at the villagers, who were now emerging from all around the lake, slowly walking towards the dead dragon. "It's over!" she called out to the timid humans, "You are safe now, and you have Bard to thank!" The cheer that they gave was almost loud enough to cover the distant call of her name. She whipped her head around, and locked eyes with the young dwarf just before he shut his eyes and collapsed, falling off of the horse galloping towards her.

**ooooo**

He dreamed of beautiful things. Of eyes that were wind and water, of long locks made of fire, and skin made of air. He dreamt of a voice made of stars and a heart made of the sun. He dreamt of Tauriel.

When he woke, he did not know where he was. It was dark, but he could not see the stars. He rolled off of the sleeping mat, and groggily felt his way out of the tent he had been sleeping in.

"Feeling better?" said a voice of starlight with a merry tongue. He looked up into the laughing eyes of the elf in his dreams. _I must have gotten a right knock on the head, when did I turn into such a sappy poet?_ Kili thought to himself.

"Yes, m'lady. How long was I sleeping?"

"You've been asleep since the night before last."

"That long!"

"I gave you some potions to keep you asleep. You needed to heal, and Fili agreed that you would only injure yourself further by trying to help if you were awake."

"Some real high opinions of me you lot have then." Kili muttered to himself, and smiled as Tauriel laughed. They fell into a companionable silence as Kili mulled over all that had happened. _My grandfather would be rollin' in his grave if he knew of those blasted dreams. But that's all they are, dreams. She may be the most beautiful creature I've laid eyes on, but there is no way it would ever work._ He glanced towards her, and noticed a bandage on her arm. "M'lady! What happened?"

"Call me Tauriel, Kili. And it is nothing that will not mend itself, do not worry. It was just an injury I attained while pulling Bard out of Laketown." Kili fell silent again, marvelling over her bravery. He decided to change topics before he became some doe-eyed maid.

"Now, _Tauriel,_ what's happened since I fell off that damn horse of yours?"

"Smaug is dead, his corpse lays just over by the lake. Bard was hiding one of the black arrows, and managed to shoot him at the most opportune time. Most of the village survived the fire, but the buildings themselves did not fare as well. My kin arrived not long after you and your brother, and Legolas took Bard and a few of the elves to the mountain to see what came of your company."

"And has there been any word from him?"

"There has."

"And?"

"They are alive, and mostly well."

"Mostly?"

"I had wished for your brother to tell you this, but it is your uncle. Thorin has succumbed to the same sickness that betrayed his father and his father's father."

"By Durin's beard! That man should know better! He _does_ know better!"

"He wishes to go to war rather than share any of the treasure with the people of Laketown."

"Pah! And what did your king say to that?"

"They have declared battle."


End file.
